While the UK certainly isn't renowned for its sharks, a group of photographers were stunned to see an ocean predator swimming around the Cornish waters.
That's right, while areas like New Quay are famous for their wonderful harbours, Cornish pasties and scrumptious crepes, there's plenty more than just seals hiding in the deep blue depths surrounding the tourist hotspot.
In an incredible moment, a thresher shark leapt out of the sea right in front of a group of tourists enjoying a boat trip.
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Photographer, Joshua Pedley, known as 'The Wildlife Man', couldn't believe his eyes as the animal burst out of the water. He quickly whipped out his camera and caught a magnificent picture.
Despite running wildlife-watching trips in the area for half a decade, this was the first time he'd ever seen a thresher shark, which is currently listed as 'vulnerable' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Therefore, seeing them in the flesh is extremely rare.
And Pedley was wowed by the shark's size and beauty.
Posting the image on the Ceredigion Birds and Wildlife group on Facebook, the animal expert said: "Hold The Front Page! Today [Friday, August 18], at approximately 2.15pm on our boat trip, we saw a MASSIVE shark. This is a thresher shark, one of the most simply exquisite pieces of fish-based engineering out there. With a tail as long as its body, this beast is not only huge, but absolutely gorgeous. We estimate that it was probably between five and six metres long."
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Speaking to Wales Online, he added: "I have never seen a Thresher Shark before. I have been working in these waters for the last five years as well! So it is an unusual sighting, you've got to get very lucky to be in the right place at the right time to see it. While it is unusual, it isn't unheard of!"
His customers had headed out on a 1:35 PM dolphin tour, but received a lot more than they bargained for when the shark leapt out of the water not once, but three times.
Pedley beamed: "A truly remarkable sighting of a truly remarkable animal! It breached three times in total, the initial breach caught my attention, and then the photograph I managed was from one of the following two breaches. Very lucky to find ourselves in the right place at the right time!"
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Luckily, the graceful sea creature is not a threat to humans.
The Wildlife Man continued: " "They feed on fish and squids and use their extremely long tail as a whip to stun, if not slice, their prey. We estimate that this specific individual that we saw was probably between five to six metres long, with them, on average, maxing out at about six metres in length.
"I get asked multiple times a day on our boat trips, 'Do we get any sharks here?' – well, yes is the answer, but normally only some of the smaller shark species like Catsharks. Every now and then, though, you will get lucky and sight a larger shark as they are out there. Not a cause for panic or hysteria, but a wonderful sign to show how healthy and rich with wildlife our local waters actually are."
You can keep in the loop with all of The Wildlife Man's antics on Facebook here and Instagram here.
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